Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Human rights Political aspects Indonesia'

The concept of human rights holds a distinctive significance in political practice, yet philosophers remain divided over the nature of these rights. The Orthodox View defines human rights as moral rights possessed by all individuals simply in virtue of their humanity. Proponents of this view claim that the contemporary idea of human rights is a continuation of the natural rights project of the eighteenth century and shares many of its basic philosophical assumptions. This thesis argues that the Orthodox View is no longer an appropriate characterisation of the concept of human rights we find in current domestic and international practice. It also rejects recent alternatives offered by supporters of the Political View, who define human rights by particular functions they serve, specifically their role(s) in acting as benchmarks for the legitimacy of states or triggers of international concern. I propose instead a new 'Political Justification View' of human rights, which states that human rights are demands which challenge unjustifiable political-institutional orders, which are the concern of all people, and which protect the equal standing of individuals in political decisions that affect the collective or individual good. This view better captures the diversity of practices that employ the term 'human rights', whilst also explaining its innovative power as a moral language that enables individuals to challenge the official institutional order under whose authority they live. Finally, I argue that within this broader view of human rights there are two distinct moral concepts which pertain to different parts of human rights practice: Domestic Human Rights and International Legitimacy Rights. Separating these two concepts is helpful in resolving long-standing debates about whether human rights are properly thought of as minimalist moral concerns of legitimacy or broader social goals to be achieved through political institutions.

This dissertation focuses on the concept of human rights, and in particular on how we should understand the interests protected by human rights and human rights' correlative duties. The work consists of three papers. Human rights and interests In the first paper I consider which conditions interests have to satisfy in order to be protected by human rights. I call these the Interest Conditions. I argue that we need to distinguish between two kinds of Interest Conditions: qualitative and quantitative ones. This means that we need to consider both which type of interests, and how much of these interests, human rights protect. I then consider the content of these conditions. Political accounts and fidelity to human rights practice In recent years, considerable attention has been received by so called "political accounts" of the analysis of human rights. According to these theories, one of the distinctive features of human rights is that they play a certain political function. In particular, a large number of political accounts hold that human rights have political correlative duties. I call this thesis 'Political Duties'. Political Duties has been defended on the grounds of the desideratum of fidelity, according to which the analysis of human rights ought to be faithful to human rights practice. I consider two ways of interpreting this desideratum and the corresponding versions of the argument in support of Political Duties. I argue that neither version successfully supports the thesis. The universal scope of positive duties correlative to human rights In the third paper I focus on duties correlative to human rights. We can distinguish between two different kinds of duties: negative and positive ones. Negative duties are duties not to perform an action, while positive duties are duties to perform an action. I focus on the latter and, in particular, I concentrate on the question of their scope - that is, on understanding who holds them. I defend a refinement of the thesis that all individuals hold positive duties correlative to human rights, which I call the Universal Scope Thesis.

In this thesis, I analyze some of the most important contributions concerning the inclusion of animals in the moral and political sphere. Moving from these positions, I suggest that a meaningful consideration of animals' sentience demands a profound, radical political theory which considers animals as moral patients endowed with specific capabilities whose actualization needs to be allowed and/or promoted. Such theory would take human-animal different types of relationships into account to decide what kind of ethical and political responsibilities humans have towards animals. It would be also based on the assumption that animals' sentience is the necessary and sufficient feature for assigning moral status. I start from the consideration that in the history of political philosophy, most theorists have excluded animals from the realm of justice. I then propose an examination of utilitarianism, capabilities approach, and relational-based theories of animal rights (in particular the works by Kymlicka and Donaldson, and Clare Palmer) and borrow essential elements from each of these approaches to build my theory. I claim that a political theory which attaches high importance to individual capabilities, as well as to the various types of relationships we have with animals, is the most appropriate to tackle the puzzle of human responsibilities to animals.

Using regime theory, we consider in this thesis whether there is evidence of the gradual establishment of norms, principles, rules and regulations governing donor policies with regards to linking foreign aid to human rights practices. We hypothesize that, despite the constraints caused by the multiplicity of foreign policy objectives for any given donor, there is evidence of a developing human rights regime in the foreign aid policies and practices of donors of aid. Using a historical approach, we study the aid policies and practices of two international organizations (the United Nations and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) and two aid donors (Norway and the United States). We investigate the donors' policy statements, monitoring mechanisms, policy implementation and changes in donor behavior for evidence of the presence of a regime. Our findings suggest regime development occurring over three distinct periods of time (1945-50; 1973-83; 1989-94), with the resulting regime operating at three distinct levels with varying degrees of efficiency and effectiveness.

Understanding human dignity is integral to protecting human rights. An examination of Canada‘s Supreme Court decisions and Canadian public policy debates reveals that human dignity is being defined synonymously with individual autonomy and equality. This narrow understanding has serious implications for people who are not able to assert their autonomy. To understand the philosophical ideas behind these decisions, this thesis examines classical, modern, and postmodern accounts of human dignity and concludes that they fall short in providing an objective grounding for dignity that is truly human. It then looks to the Judeo- Christian account of human dignity to provide a transcendent foundation for human dignity. With this account, persons are rational and physical, relational, inviolable, and teleological – a hopeful contrast to the prevailing contemporary accounts. This thesis then defends the place of this religious perspective in our secular country.
vi, 182 leaves : ill. ; 29 cm.

The global emphasis on human rights has generated a surge of studies into what causes regimes to abuse the basic rights of their citizens. Causes of abuse can be internal or external in nature, based on economics, politics or cultures. This study examines the effects of foreign aid and foreign direct investment on three types of human rights: personal integrity, civil and political, and subsistence. I perform ordinary least squares regression analyses with panel-corrected standard errors on a pooled cross-sectional time series design incorporating 127 countries from 1976 to 1996. While my results are not significant, it is important to observe that there is a tendency toward negative relationships for the majority of the analyses.

This dissertation is a cross-national investigation of the relationship between cultural heterogeneity and regimes' respect for basic human rights. The quantitative human rights literature has not yet addressed the question of whether high levels of cultural diversity are beneficial or harmful. My research addresses this gap. I address the debate between those who argue that diversity is negatively related to basic human rights protection and those who argue it is likely to improve respect for these rights. Ultimately, I propose that regimes in diverse countries will be less likely to provide an adequate level of subsistence (otherwise known as basic human needs) and security rights (also known as integrity of the person rights) to their citizens than regimes in more homogeneous countries. Using a data set of 106 non-OECD countries for the years 1983 and 1993, I employ bivariate, linear multivariate regression, and causal modeling techniques to test whether higher levels of ethnolinguistic and religious diversity are associated with less regime respect for subsistence and security rights. The analysis reveals that higher levels of cultural diversity do appear to lead to lower respect for subsistence rights. However, counter to the hypothesized relationship, high levels of diversity appear to be compatible with high levels of respect for security rights.

In Africa, the fight against poverty has a great deal in common with the struggle for political and economic security. For many migrant workers around the continent and elsewhere, the need for socio-economic security serves as the underlining motive for migration to boundaries beyond their own, in search of ‘greener pastures’ - a life of dignity, respect and socio-economic security. The high level of infrastructure, economic and political stability remains an attractive incentive for irregular migrants to migrate to South Africa. Thousands of migrant workers make annually the journey to South Africa with the hope of finding a better life. However, their arrival in South Africa marks the beginning of an even more tenacious struggle against unimaginable odds. For many irregular migrants, the dream of a better life soon becomes a nightmare highlighted by constant struggle against xenophobia, police brutality, exploitation by unscrupulous employers, marginalisation and disregard for fundamental human rights by the state.
Mini Dissertation (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2011.
http://www.chr.up.ac.za/
nf2012
Centre for Human Rights
LLM

Since West Papua was colonized by Indonesia in 1963, West Papuans have endured one of the most disastrous experiences of cultural and environmental destruction, human rights abuses and mass killing of the twentieth century. In the Western Highlands of West Papua, where Freeport McMoRan, a mining company from Louisiana, United States (U.S.), operates, there have been long-standing disputes over environmental justice, human rights, the right to control development, and wealth distribution. Substantial research has been done on the negative impacts of the Freeport's operation on the Amungme and Kamoro communities who reside in the company's operating area. Yet, limited research has been done regarding Freeport's social policies and the possible solutions to the issues which are crucial for the further development of Amungme and Kamoro. Therefore, the thesis firstly examines Freeport's recent social policies which have attempted to address the two communities' concerns as well as the social problems the company has caused around its operating area. The examination suggests that genuine reconciliation between Amungme and Kamoro communities and Freeport is a crucial next step in achieving successful community development in the area. The thesis employs a case study of the South African reconciliation processes via Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to explore the prospects of achieving successful community development in Freeport's operating area of West Papua which might lead to prosperity for the Amungme and Kamoro peoples. In addition to this, the prospect of preventing the human rights violations by the Indonesian Military (Tentera Nasional Indonesia-TNI) is considered. The TNI, by carrying out the role of protecting the Freeport operation, has until today committed a large number of human rights violations against indigenous West Papuans around the mine thus preventing and inhibiting the future development of Amungme and Kamoro communities. Since major countries, including the U.S., the United Kingdom (UK), New Zealand and Australia, have until today, supported the Indonesia state and the TNI, the attitude of Pacific Island states towards the issue is examined. Finally, although the above processes are important, the study suggests the more important role of the Amungme and Kamoro themselves in taking responsibility for their plight and taking positive actions wherever possible to solve the issues surrounding them. Although the conflict continues to the present day, the research contained in the thesis outlines the situation in West Papua only up until November 2006.

Thesis (LLD)--University of Stellenbosch, 2000.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Human rights denials have more characterised Rwandan history than their promotion and protection. When the Rwandan State emerged from Tutsi domination and colonialism, many Rwandans hoped that the era of liberty had at least dawned. But the reality has been a total disappointment and replicas of earlier abuses have emerged, despite the ratification by Rwanda of most international human rights instruments. This dissertation is premised on the assumption that Rwanda has failed as a democratic constitutional State, and the whole socio-economic-political system has gone wrong. Chapter one argues that disequilibrium was built into the Rwandan system before colonisation and evangelisation. There was a 'consensus' that Tutsis were a superior minority race, able to govern and dominate, well organised and accepted by their Hutu subjects. The colonists and the Catholic Church exploited this injustice for their indirect rule. In a world evolving towards the international human rights system, this had a very precarious foundation in Rwanda. Indeed, poor management of changes due to evangelisation, education and market economy led to the denial of human dignity. It exacerbated division in favour of Hutus rather than reinforcing national unity. Chapter two considers the Hutu regime as a failure of a democratic constitutional State in the postcolonial era, despite the promise to serve the interests of all Rwandans through democracy and respect for human rights. In a one-party State, a handful of Hutus have monopolised power and resources. The institutional infrastructure for the management of the State and protection of human rights was set up to safeguard the interests of the ruling group only and oppress the rest of the population. The Hutu government, particularly, took revenge on Tutsis that they killed, forced into exile and denied access to public affairs. Hutu opponents, real or imaginary, and people from other regions than that of the President were also denied such access. Separation of powers was purposely just a theory, whence a non-independent judiciary, interference of the executive in the functioning of other branches of government and abuse of legislative power became the reality. In order to perpetuate the ruling group's hegemony, civil society was hindered, while states of emergency were used to deny the right to life, liberty and the security of the person. Many other rights were also denied regardless of whether the denial was a legacy of the past or just a result of the undemocratic nature of the State and the underdevelopment of the country. The Hutu regime's failure to promote national unity resulted in a genocide which took the lives of many Tutsis and Hutus. Whereas the current Tutsi government presented itself as committed to democracy and human rights, Chapter three argues that it was a mutatis mutandis replica of the Hutu rule. Indeed, the State system and resources have been captured by a group of Tutsis while other Tutsis have been left without hope and Hutus have become second-class citizens, whence justice and national unity are in jeopardy. By avoiding to tackle the fundamental issue of nation-statehood, the United Nations have failed to maintain peace and security. The failure to condemn Ugandan aggression against Rwanda, the forced repatriation of refugees, and the non-prosecution of Tutsis involved in crimes against humanity have proved the demise of international law and the maintenance of the culture of impunity in Rwanda. The author nonetheless argues that respect for human rights and establishment of the rule of law are still possible through a process of reconciliation and reconstruction.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die geskiedenis van Rwanda word meer deur die miskenning van menseregte as erkenning en beskerming daarvan gekenmerk. Toe die Rwandese Staat onder Tutsi oorheersing en kolonialisme uit verrys, het baie Rwandese gehoop dat die tydperk van vryheid ten minste aangebreek het, maar die werklikheid was algeheel teleurstellend en weergawes van vroeëre misbruike het weer tevore getree, ten spyte daarvan dat Rwanda die meeste internasionale werktuie vir menseregte bekragtig het. Hierdie verhandeling berus op die aanname dat Rwanda as 'n demokratiese grondwetlike staat misluk het en dat die sosio-ekonomies-politieke stelsel geheel-en-al verkeerd geloop het. Hoofstuk een argumenteer dat 'n wanbalans voor die kolonisasie en evangelisasie van die land reeds in die Rwandese stelsel ingebou is. Daar was 'konsensus' waarvolgens Tutsis beskou is as 'n superieure minderheidsras wat in staat was om te regeer en te oorheers, wat goed georganiseer was en deur hul Hutu onderdane aanvaar is. Die koloniste en die Katolieke Kerk het hierdie onreg ten voordeel van hul indirekte heerskappy uitgebuit. In 'n wêreld wat op pad was na 'n internasionale menseregtestelsel was die grondslag wat hiervoor in Rwanda gelê is uiters onseker. Swak bestuur van veranderinge wat deur evangelisasie, opvoeding en 'n mark-ekonomie teweeggebring is, het in werklikheid tot miskenning van menseregte gelei. Dit het skeiding tot voordeel van die Hutus vererger, eerder as om nasionale eenheid te versterk. Hoofstuk twee kyk na die Hutu regime as 'n mislukte demokratiese konstitusionele staat in die postkoloniale era, ten spyte van die belofte om die belange van alle Rwandese deur demokrasie en eerbied vir menseregte te dien. In die eenpartystaat het 'n handjievol Hutus die mag en hulpbronne gemonopoliseer. Die institusionele infrastruktuur vir die bestuur van die Staat is opgestel om die belange van die heersersgroep te beveilig en die res van die bevolking te onderdruk. Die Hutu regering het hul veralop Tutsis gewreek deur hulle te vermoor, tot ballingskap te dryf en hul toegang tot openbare sake te weier. Hutu teenstanders, werklik of vermeend, en mense vanaf ander streke as die waarvan die President afkomstig was, is ook van sodanige toegang weerhou. Die verspreiding van mag was doelbewus niks meer as teoreties nie, vandaar die nie-onafhanklikheid van die regbank, inmenging by die funksionering van ander vertakkings van die regering deur die uitvoerende gesag en die misbruik van die wetgewende gesag. In die poging om die regerende groep se hegemonie te bestendig, is die burgerlike samelewing belemmer en is daar van noodtoestande gebruik gemaak om die reg tot lewe, vryheid en die veiligheid van die persoon aan te tas. Baie ander regte is ook geweier, ongeag of die weiering daarvan as gevolg van die nalatenskap van die verlede of die ondemokratiese aard van die Staat en die onderontwikkeldheid van die land moontlik was. Die feit dat die Hutu regering ten opsigte van die bevordering van nasionale eenheid misluk het, het gelei na In menseslagting wat die lewens van vele Tutsis en Hutus geëis het. Terwyl die huidige Tutsi regering homself as verbonde tot demokrasie en menseregte voordoen, argumenteer Hoofstuk drie dat die regering bloot 'n mutatis mutandi weergawe van die Hutu regering is. In werklikheid is die staatsisteem en die hulpbronne deur 'n groep Tutsis gebuit, die res van die Tutsis is sonder hoop gelaat en die Hutus is tot tweederangse burgers gemaak, wat vrede en sekuriteit in gevaar stel. Met die ontwyking van die grondliggende kwessie van nasieskap, het die Verenigde Volke ten opsigte van die handhawing van vrede en sekuriteit gefaal. Die onvermoë om Uganda se aggressie teenoor Rwanda te verdoem, die gedwonge repatriasie van vlugtelinge en die gebrek aan vervolging van Tutsis wat skuldig is aan misdade teen die mensheid het die afstanddoening van internasionale wetgewing en die ondersteuning van die kultuur van straffeloosheid in Rwanda bewys. Desnieteenstaande argumenteer die skrywer dat respek vir menseregte en die instelling van regsoewereiniteit nog steeds deur middel van 'n proses van versoening en heropbouing in Rwanda moontlik gemaak kan word.

The Zimbabwean society views persons with disabilities (PWDs) ‘as useless liabilities that have no role to play in society.’ The Zimbabwean Government has also forgotten PWDs since they are not mentioned in all the country’s national budgets. This has led to uncountable barriers faced by PWDs in their bid to be included as equal members of the society. Some of the barriers are constant discrimination, sheer poverty, lack of access to mainstream public services and stigma. Hundreds to thousands of PWDs beg for alms in the streets of every town and city. Zimbabwe then has to be reminded that all PWDs have: a right to enjoy a decent life, as normal and full as possible, a right which lies at the heart of the right to human dignity. This right should be jealously guarded and forcefully protected by all states party to the African Charter in accordance with the well established principle that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Thus, the era of silence when it comes to the realisation of the rights of PWDs in Zimbabwe has to come to an end. All PWDs in Zimbabwe should know that it is by right and not by privilege to be guaranteed full and effective participation, and inclusion in society. It is time for Zimbabwe to embrace all the rights for PWDs without any hesitation. It is time for humanity to celebrate the inherent dignity, individual autonomy, independence and the right not to be discriminated against for all PWDs. Every lawmaker in Zimbabwe has to be reminded to delete from the statute books all laws which view disability as a medical problem and instead, pass laws which are in line with the human rights-based approach which is a more enlightened, realistic and people-centred approach to disability. No time to play but plenty of time to work…!
Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2011.
http://www.chr.up.ac.za/
nf2012
Centre for Human Rights
LLM

This study examines human rights in the North-South relations of three internationalist countries: Canada, the Netherlands, and Norway. It pays special attention to the integration of human rights in development aid policy, particularly the use of political conditionality. The theoretical framework examines the explanatory power of political Realism. A hypothesis linking policy assertiveness with the perceived costs to other national interests is tested by selecting Western states most likely to disprove Realist assumptions, and by choosing at least two Third World cases for each aid donor: one where economic, political and strategic interests are high, and another where the same interests are minimal or low. Three frameworks to (1) document human rights abuses; (2) evaluate national human rights performance; and (3) gauge foreign policy assertiveness serve as the methodological lenses to analyze Western statecraft and test the hypothesis.
Each donor's search for moral opportunity is visible in an emerging agenda to promote human rights and democratic development. However, if the resolve to defend human rights beyond national borders is gauged by a state's willingness to incur harm to other important national interests, then Canada, the Netherlands, and Norway are seldom disposed to let human rights trump more self-serving national interests. The potential for consistent and principled human rights statecraft is frequently undermined by Realism's cost-benefit rationality.

Women are subject to a number of societal recommendations about what it means to be an 'ideal' woman. These recommendations take the form of social scripts, constructing an idea of ideal femininity, which women must perform in order to be socially accepted and successful. 'Emphasized femininity', a white, Western, script of femininity is dominant and has been critiqued by feminists, social theorists, and individual women for the limits that it places on women's behaviour. As a result a number of alternative scripts of femininity have arisen. These scripts can provide alternatives to restrictive understandings of female sexuality and beauty - they can serve to challenge 'appropriate' feminine behaviour and hence allow women to live more freely. Raunch femininity is a contemporary alternative that uses sexually explicit public performance, and encourages specific body and dress norms, in an attempt to challenge the norms of emphasized femininity. This thesis looks at raunch femininity, specifically its norms of sexuality and beauty, in the hopes of understanding what the effects of such a script are on women's behaviour. Theoretical understandings and explanations of women's lives are often contradicted by reports that women provide of their lived experiences. For this reason, this thesis investigates the lived experiences of women who self-identify as subscribers to this script in order to assess to what extent superficial expressions of freedom have deeper effects on women's freedom. The tension between theory and empirical reports is evident. However, in many cases, the reports of research participants reveal that the script of raunch femininity, like other scripts of feminine behaviour, has its own limits that women must abide with in order to be accepted. This thesis argues that these limits outweigh the benefits of this script.
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This study examines the degree to which the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings in East London have mitigated the impact of gross human rights violations on some of the Duncan Village victims. The research draws upon responses from a convenience sample of victims of apartheid atrocities guided by their own individual experiences, literature on conflict management, and TRC hearings that took place in other African states. The East London TRC hearings alert one to the brutality of the apartheid regime whose political intolerance unleashed violence against ordinary citizens of East London. Despite being seen as a witch hunt against the apartheid security establishment, most of the victims feel the TRC opened lines of communication between former enemies, although one cannot conclusively say that total reconciliation between victims and perpetrators has been achieved. Insofar as telling the truth is concerned, the concept defies unanimous acceptance as a contributor to peaceful co-existence. The mere fact that some perpetrators refused to appear before the TRC is an indication that the value attached to it differs from person to person, particularly in a situation where the political landscape is characterized by intimidation and fear. The treatise unveils the East London TRC as a platform for compromise as some of the victims felt anger and hatred for the perpetrators would amount to perpetual self-imposed ostracism. Noting that the TRC was never meant to hurt anyone, the treatise ushers one into a space where reconciliation takes precedence over vengeance.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The petroleum industry concern itself with natural resource extracting activities which are highly sensitive for contributing to environmental degradation by oil spills or gas flaring. A large proportion of the world’s oil and gas reserves is located in developing countries where the presence of multinational oil corporations (MNOCs) is high as host countries often lack the infrastructure needed or are financially unable to conduct extracting operations on their own. The Niger Delta in southern Nigeria has one of the largest oil reserves in Africa and is one of the world’s leading oil exporters. MNOCs like Shell, Chevron, Total, ExxonMobil and Statoil are some of the firms present in the Niger Delta region. The oil-rich area in the developing country poses high levels of political risk for the MNOCs. Local grievances, paired with environmental degradation and human rights violations by the oil companies, have led to a tense relationship between the local stakeholders and the MNOCs, with so-called petro-violence at the center of the oil conflict. Frequently, oil installations are sabotaged and crude oil is stolen, causing major financial losses for the firms, and armed attacks on oil facilities and kidnapping of MNOCs’ staff constitute the majority of political risks facing MNOCs operating in the Niger Delta. This study investigates how MNOCs can successfully manage such political risks, providing a business advantage in a challenging business environment. By addressing the companys’ own behaviour, the research analyses if social engagement through corporate social responsibility (CSR) can mitigate political risk in the Niger Delta. The study looks at two different MNOCs operating in the Niger delta, Shell and Statoil, and scrutinises their methods of implementation of their CSR initiatives. The difference in approaches to CSR is elucidated where Shell claims it has repositioned its approach from a top-down angle during the first years of conducting CSR projects, to a more stakeholder-oriented approach. Yet, their approach is still found to carry elements of the previous top-down approach, and has not resulted in satisfactory performance in relation to stated goals. Statoil undertakes a stakeholder-oriented bottom-up approach, executed with a high level of commitment. The stated CSR goals have to a great extent been met. By assessing the two companies’ CSR strategies in relation to the frequency of political risks experienced by each MNOC, the study finds that CSR has the potential to mitigate political risk depending on the approach to implementation, and could serve as a political risk management strategy.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die brandstofbedryf is betrokke by die ontginning van natuurlike hulpbronne, ’n aktiwiteit wat hoogs sensitief is vir sy bydrae tot omgewingsbesoedeling as gevolg van storting van olie en opvlamming van gas. ’n Baie groot deel van die wêreld se olie en gas reserwes word aangetref in ontwikkelende lande. Die teenwoordigheid van Multinasionale Olie Korporasies (MNOKs) in hierdie lande is groot omdat daar gewoonlik ’n gebrek aan toepaslike infrastruktuur is en die lande ook nie finansieel in staat mag wees om die ontginning op hulle eie te doen nie. Die Niger Delta in die Suide van Nigerië beskik oor een van die grootste olie reserwes in Afrika en is een van die voorste olie uitvoerders in die wêreld. Shell, Chevron, Total, ExxonMobil en Statoil is van die bekende MNOK wat ontginning doen in die Niger Delta gebied. Die olieryke gebiede in ’n ontwikkelende land kan groot politieke risiko vir die MNOKs inhou. Plaaslike griewe gekoppel aan omgewings besoedeling en menseregte skendings deur die oliemaatskappye het gelei tot ’n gespanne verhouding tussen hulle en die plaaslike belange groepe, en sogenaamde “petrogeweld” staan sentraal hierin. Heel gereeld word olie-installasies gesaboteer en ru-olie word gesteel, wat natuurlik groot finansiële verliese die firmas inhou. Daarby word gewapende aanvalle op die olie-installasies uitgevoer en van die MNOKs se personeel ontvoer. Al hierdie dinge vorm die groot politieke risiko’s wat die MNOKs in die Niger Delta in die gesig staar. Hierdie studie ondersoek hoe die MNOKs met welslae hierdie politieke risiko’s kan teenwerk om vir hulle ’n suksesvolle besigheid te vestig in ’n baie mededingende bedryfsomgewing. Deur te kyk na die maatskappy se eie gedrag, sal die navorsing analiseer of gemeenskapsbetrokkenheid deur korporatiewe sosiale verantwoordelikheid (KSV) die politieke risiko in die Niger Delta kan temper. Die studie kyk na twee verskillende MNOK wat in die gebied bedryf word, Shell en Statoil, en kyk noukeurig na die manier waarop hulle KSV inisiatiewe toegepas word. Die verskil in benadering tot die probleem word toegelig deur die feit dat Shell beweer dat hulle ’n bo-na-onder benadering in die beginjare van KSV projekte verander het na ’n beleid waar meer na die betrokkenheid van belangegroepe gekyk word. Tog word gevind dat daar nog oorblyfsels is van die bo-na-onder benadering en dat doelwitte wat gestel is nie bevredigend bereik is nie. Statoil daarenteen. Implementeer ’n onder-na-bo benadering met betrokkenheid van belangegroepe en ’n hoë vlak van toewyding deur die maatskappy. Die gestelde KSV doelwitte is grootliks behaal. Deur te kyk na die twee maatskappye se ervaring van politieke risiko in verhouding met hulle KSV strategieë bevind hierdie studie dat KSV wel die potensiaal het om, as dit suksesvol toegepas word, politieke risiko te temper en dus kan die as ’n strategie om sodanige risiko te bestuur.

L'étude a porté sur deux outils élaborés par l’Union européenne à l'appui de ses politiques d'allocation d'aide extérieure au bénéfice principalement d'Etats en développement et participant à sa stratégie de promotion du respect de droits de l’homme dans les Etats tiers. Il s'agit du mécanisme de conditionnalité démocratique d’une part, et de la doctrine fondée sur le concept de gouvernance d’autre part. L'une des principales critiques que la doctrine adresse à l’Union au sujet de sa politique de conditionalité est son incapacité à répondre à l’une des attentes fondamentales qui la sous-tend, à savoir :la naissance d’une politique d’aide extérieure détachée des considérations géopolitiques et visant à protéger et promouvoir efficacement les droits de l’homme. Dans la mesure où la doctrine en attribue en général la responsabilité à l’absence de clarté et de prévisibilité du mécanisme de la conditionnalité démocratique, cette critique eut dû conduire à l’élaboration d’un régime davantage juridicisé. Or, l'émergence de la doctrine fondée sur le concept de gouvernance révèle que l’Union n’a pas opté pour une telle solution. C’est alors que, divisant mon étude en deux parties, la première affectée à l’étude du mécanisme conditionnel et la seconde affectée à l’étude de la doctrine de gouvernance, je me suis interrogée sur les raisons pour lesquelles l’Union avait pu choisir de recourir d’abord à un appel au droit, et ensuite à une repolitisation partielle de son mécanisme. Prenant appui sur une étude des documents officiels des institutions européennes, de la pratique de l'Union et des théories des relations internationales, l'étude tend à révéler les atouts et les limites théoriques de chacune de ces stratégies déstinées à suciter des réformes particulières dans les Etats partenaires de l’Union.Il apparaîtra que l’appel au droit opéré dans le cadre du mécanisme de conditionnalité répondait à des besoins et à une logique spécifiques lors de son institution, mais que la forme juridicisée du mécanisme conditionnel tel qu’institué se heurtait à diverses limites. La doctrine fondée sur le concept de gouvernance, dans le même temps qu’elle acte ces limites et tend à les dépasser, amène à de nouveaux questionnements.

The study related to both EU tools, affecting its external aid policies and contributing to its human rights strategy :conditionality and governance. One of the main critic that the doctrine addresses to EU conditionality, is its incapacity to lead to an external aid free of geopolitical considerations and acting to protect and promote effectively the human rights. The doctrine explains this weakness by pointing out the mechanism of conditionality’s lack of clearness and previsibility. Despite this critic is pleading for a more legalized mechanism, the governance strategy reveals that the Union did not choose such a solution.Then, dividing the study into two parts, the first assigned to conditional mechanism and the second assigned to governance, I’m asking the reason why a less legalized mecanism succeeded to conditionality. Based on cooperation agreements, strategic orientations, EU practice and the international relations theories, the study tends to reveal the assets and limits of the two strategies. It appears that the legalization process of conditionality can be explained by specific needs but it encountered various limits. At the same times, while strategy based on Governance adresses some of them, this new tool reveals new questions.

Doctorat en droit
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

This dissertation explores the construction of ordinariness in the accounts of perpetrators of gross human rights violations, who commit their actions in the context of a system. A review of the literature that conceived of perpetrators in this way was undertaken. This was done whilst exploring the social constructionist paradigm, which formed the theoretical backbone to the study. Discourse analysis was the methodology adopted for the two analyses that were undertaken in the thesis. The first was the analysis of the literature review, which was undertaken in order to see how ordinariness was constructed in the literature. The second analysis was that of the transcript of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Amnesty hearing of the applicant Daniel Petrus Siebert, into the death of Steve Biko. The analyses indicate that there is much similiarity in the ways in which ordinariness is constructed in the local context, and the ways in which it is constructed in the literature. Ordinariness in the context of gross human rights violations is produced through constructions of the perpetrator and the system within which the acts were committed, as passive and active respectively. The construction of the system as the epitome of the evil that is perpetrated enables the humanity or ordinariness of the perpetrator to be kept intact. Ordinariness in the South African context, is based on racist constructions of good whiteness, and bad blackness. Further, in the local political context, the TRC provides the conditions of possibility for the production of ordinariness, and ensures that perpetrators and others who benefited during the apartheid regime, continue to do so, as issues of accountability and responsibility are not adequately addressed.
Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2000.

A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Political Studies Department, Faculty of Humanities, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa 8 March 2015
HIV is the most pressing public health and development challenge facing Botswana. Reducing gender-related vulnerability to HIV is one of the top priorities of the government and its development partners. Civil society organisations (CSOs) have been identified as crucial in these efforts. As a result, civil society has grown in Botswana, in both numbers and size, to deliver services such as home-based care, counselling, and testing. Yet to reduce gendered vulnerability to HIV, social and human development goals must be met in several sectors of society. The focus on HIV-related services has implications in practise, policy, and theory that may compromise long-term development aims and co-opt civil society. This research draws on critical theory and uses action research methods to investigate the role of civil society in Botswana for reducing gendered vulnerability to HIV, now and in the future. The case of Botswana is a crucial one, as it has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates, as well as the resources, both domestic and from partners, to mobilise a comprehensive response. The combination of these factors has afforded the opportunity to gain insights to inform civil society theory and development approaches in both policy and practise to improve the HIV response and civil society’s role in it. Through a literature review, interviews with key informants, a survey, and a workshop, this research found that the HIV response in Botswana is addressing many of the issues suggested by global development partners, such as UNAIDS, at the policy level, though implementation is lacking, especially concerning male involvement in gender programming. It found that efforts to meet the immediate needs are in place, but the long-term strategic interests are only incrementally addressed. This suggests that HIV is causing a development deficit. Additionally, the roles that CSOs serve in the response are focussed on serving these immediate needs, making it increasingly difficult for the response to effect broader social change to achieve gender equality and development. Civil society is taking on more responsibility in the public sector, which puts it in a vulnerable position. Its role needs to be reconceptualised in the HIV response and in development more broadly. This research proposes theoretical and policy implications to inform civil society-state relations; approaches to address complicated social development issues, such as genderbased violence; and offers an 18-point analytical framework to address operational and programmatic capacities in civil society. The framework offers a new category for the dynamic analysis of civil society organisations while working with the state called ‘civil agents’. It also describes the bridge function that CSOs serve when working with key populations, such as sexual minorities, in criminalised settings. Together these theoretical and policy implications can contribute to the understanding of civil society in the HIV response, and gender equity in the context of the post-2015 global development agenda. Key words: Civil Society Organisations, Non-governmental Organisations, HIV, Gender, Botswana, Development, Critical Theory, Action Research
MT2016

Through an ethnographic study of a cross-border aid organisation, this thesis examines problems that go to the heart of the politics of humanitarian aid. At a time of significant political change in Burma, members of the Back Pack Health Worker Team had to grapple with questions that have shaped the history of humanitarianism but continue to raise complex political and ethical dilemmas. The Back Pack Health Worker Team - or Back Pack, as it is commonly known - is a Non-Government Organisation made up of indigenous medics who provide healthcare to ethnic minority communities in Burma's disputed border areas. Ten years after its creation in 1998, Back Pack had become an influential yet controversial player in the politics of aid to Burma. This thesis explores how humanitarian actors, systems and practices can at different times be defined as legitimate or illegitimate. It examines ways in which an 'embodied history' of violence can influence the worldviews and actions of humanitarian actors, as well as institutions that develop in a particular context to mitigate human suffering. Back Pack's 'humanitarian struggle' unites the provision of aid with a politico-moral vision, itself tied to the life experiences and embodied histories of state violence of its founders and members. This humanitarian struggle implies an attribution of legitimacy to some socio-political actors in Burma rather than others. For over a decade, it was endorsed by international donors and political actors. At a time of significant (geo)political change, however, international-level attributions of legitimacy to different socio-political actors in Burma shifted, with significant impacts on an already polarised and emotive politics of aid. This ethnographic study highlights the importance of analysing systems through which aid works from the perspective of values attributed to these systems by actors at different scales of analysis and in relation to wider political and geopolitical changes. It focuses on the complex and often-invisible webs of local organisations, international NGOs, donors and other socio-political actors, which can develop in a cross-border and extra-legal context - a context where competing constructions of systems as legitimate or illegitimate, humanitarian or not humanitarian are highlighted. It is in such a context and at a time of significant (geo)political change that constructions of 'licitness' can become most pertinent and that divergent and shifting attributions of value by actors at different scales become particularly significant. Finally, the thesis links this analysis to a conceptualisation of humanitarianism as an unequal 'politics of life' and 'politics of value'. It thus highlights ways in which actors differentially situated in an international system of 'humanitarian government' can be involved in contests over the attribution of value not only to human lives per se, but also to the systems and practices that enable the government of these lives.

Thesis (D. Litt. et Phil. (Communication))
This study is broadly conceived within the case study format, as is exemplified by the focus on the exploration of the orientations and operational contexts of a single media-support organisation, the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA). Within that research approach, the thesis examines the historical and ideological designs of OSISA, the rationale for its existence, and its interlocking linkages with international and Southern African-based media civil society organisations. The study argues that OSISA was formed in response to the evolving political situations in parts of Southern Africa in the mid-1990s, which include the collapse of apartheid in South Africa, and the crumbling of many authoritarian regimes on much of the rest of the sub-continent. With all these events taking place in a relatively short space of time, the initiators of OSISA saw a window of opportunity for supporting and influencing the political and social transformation processes, as well as spreading the ideology of social ‘openness’. As such, the thesis approaches OSISA as an institution that forms a part of the movement towards democracy or Westernisation. The study therefore documents and analyses the theoretical antecedents that contributed to the evolution of open society ideals, and their transplantation to Southern Africa. Thereafter, the study explores the nexus between OSISA and local civil society groups. This exploration is done from the theoretical assumption that no financial aid is given without strings attached. The study thus concludes that although locally based civil society organisations try to negotiate their operational spaces, in the final analysis, such groups are all embedded in (and expected to play a role within) the 9 modernisation project, of which OSISA is just one of many instruments in that grand global venture. Finally, the study proposes a few areas for additional investigations which could enhance our understanding of the global forces at work in Southern Africa.
Communication Science

This study makes the assumption that community participation in the governance of mineral resources is a requirement of sustainable development and that through a fundamental rights-based approach, it can be made effective. The concern is that an affected community should not only be involved in the decision-making process, but its view must also influence the outcome in respect of whether or not a mineral project should take place and how it should address development issues at local level. It is assumed that this legal approach will improve mineral governance by bringing more transparency and accountability. In many African resource-rich countries, community participation has until now been practiced with more of a soft approach, with the consequence that it has been unable to eradicate the opacity existing in the management of revenues generated by mineral exploitation and also deal efficiently with the recurrence of fundamental rights violations in the mineral sector. Obviously, the success of the fundamental rights based-approach is not absolutely guaranteed because there are preconditions that must be fulfilled. The synergy between community participation and some relevant concepts like democracy, decentarlisation, accountability, (good) governance and sustainable development must be well balanced for the participation process to bring positive outcomes. Also, because the fundamental rights based-approach is conceived here within the framework of the African Charter of Human and People’s Rights, its normative and institutional components, despite the potential to make participation effective and successful, require that some critical challenges be addressed in practice. The study ends with the conclusion that the fundamental rights based-approach is appropriate to make community participation effective in the mineral-led development process taking place at local level, provided that its implementation is kept reasonable.
Constitutional, International & Indigenous Law
D.Law

Many scholars perceive state sovereignty as absolute, inviolable, indivisible, final, binding and stagnant. That perception emanates from inter alia political, social, cultural and environmental contexts of the modern era. Most literature converge that the doctrine of sovereignty first received official codification at the Peace Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. Contemporary international norms, particularly the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine, are arguably an environment and culture of current global politics. With human rights and democracy having taken centre-stage in contemporary political discourses, sovereignty is affected and influenced by such developments in international politics. Hence the argument that globalisation, among others, has eroded, weakened and rendered the doctrine of sovereignty obsolete. This study, using Zimbabwe‟s Operation Murambatsvina as a case study, demonstrates that sovereignty is neither unitary in practice, nor sacrosanct; it is dynamic and evolves, thus, in need of constant reconfiguration. To this end, the study uses the qualitative research methodology.
Political Sciences

D. Litt. et Phil. (African Politics)
This study is an exploration of transitional justice mechanisms available to post conflict communities. It is a context sensitive and sustained interrogation of the effectiveness of endogenous transitional justice mechanisms in post-colonial Zimbabwe. The study utilised Ruti Teitel’s (1997: 2009-2080) realist/idealist theory as its theoretical framework. Using the case of Africa in general and Zimbabwe in particular, it analyses the application of imported idealist transitional justice mechanisms, mainly International Criminal Court (ICC) trials. It also debates the efficacy of realist transitional justice mechanisms, mainly the South African model of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).The study explores the application of what it terms broad realist transitional justice mechanisms used mostly in rural areas of Zimbabwe to achieve peace building and reconciliation. These modes of everyday healing and reconciliation include the traditional institutions of ngozi (avenging spirit), botso (self-shaming), chenura (cleansing ceremonies), nhimbe (community working groups) and nyaradzo (memorials). The key finding of this exploration is that local realist transitional justice mechanisms are more efficacious in fostering peace building and reconciliation than imported idealist mechanisms such as the ICC trials and imported realist mechanisms such as the TRC. More value can be realised when imported realist mechanisms and local realist transitional justice mechanisms complement each other. The study contributes to the literature on transitional justice in general and bottom-up, victim-centred reconciliation in particular. It offers a different approach to the study of transitional justice in post conflict Zimbabwe by recasting the debate away from the liberal peace paradigm which critiques state centric top-down approaches such as trials, clemencies, amnesties and institutional reform. The study considers the agency of ‘ordinary’ people in resolving the after effects of politically motivated harm. It also lays the foundation for further research into other traditional transitional justice mechanisms used for peace building and reconciliation elsewhere in Africa
Political Sciences

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (History) February 2013
This study examines the gendered histories of two black women who both narrated their personal testimonies in self-authored narrations for public consumption, and who both testified at the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). It situates the politics of subjectivity, memory and historical consciousness within the social constructivist and hermeneutical theoretical frameworks of Butler and Ricoeur respectively; and through a generative process, working with their TRC testimonies and subsequent oral interviews, it examines self-narrativity, subject formation and the formation of female selfhood in the formation of gendered historical consciousness

This study is an attempt to critique the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission from a theological ethical perspective. The central critique and argument of this study will be that, it is impossible to reconcile the dispossessor and the dispossessed or the oppressor and oppressed in the way the South African TRC did. As such, it will be befitting to start off this study which explores some of the noticeable lessons and challenges emerging from the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (hereafter, the TRC) by elucidating that this study is an attempt to contribute to the on-going discussions on reconciliation. It is also vital to mention up front that this study attempts to contribute to the discussion on reconciliation which seeks to remove injustice at the root. It contributes to a discussion of the weeds of alienation and fragmentation, and it stands in contrast to the frequent use of reconciliation merely to reach some political accommodation and not to address the critical questions of justice, equality and dignity (Boesak & DeYoung 2012). It is also befitting to point out that two central themes – political pietism and Christian quietism – form the backdrop to this study (Boesak & DeYoung 2012). The study contends that reconciliation in South Africa was used merely to reach some political accommodation and did not address the three critical questions of justice, equality and dignity. These arrangements perpetually favour the rich and powerful but deprive the powerless of justice and dignity. Hitherto, this reconciliation is presented as if it does respond to the need for genuine reconciliation and employs a language that sounds like the truth, but it is in fact deceitful – and this we call political pietism. It is also vital to mention that “reconciliation” is a Christian concept, and as such, Christians’ measure matters of reconciliation with the yardstick of the gospel and therefore should know better. However, as it will be shown in this study, when Christians in South Africa discovered that the TRC was not really promoting reconciliation, they became complicit in a deceitful reconciliation. This may have been for reasons of self-protection, fear or a desire for acceptance by the powers that govern the world. Whichever way one looks at it, they tried to seek to accommodate the situation, to justify it and to refuse to run the risk of challenge and prophetic truth telling. As a result, they denied the demands of the gospel and refused solidarity with the powerless and oppressed. This is called Christian quietism (Boesak & DeYoung 2012:1). This study in its attempt to critique the South Africa TRC from a theological ethical perspective will point out that, the TRC which was obviously the product of the negotiated settlement needs to be understood against the background of the global struggle of particularly Third-World countries which were resisting authoritarian regimes put in place by the West for the benefit of the West. As such, this study will point out how the West, in their attempt to keep a grip on the Third-World countries – particularly on their resources – had to recommend and promote their notion of democracy. Democracy became the only option for Third-World countries as a result of the fall of the Soviet Union. It must, however, be mentioned that the problem is not democracy but the manifestation thereof under capitalism. This is because the notion of democracy was recommended to Third-World countries when capitalism was becoming global. As such, this presented some contradictions because democracy emphasizes joint interests, equality and common loyalties whilst capitalism is based on self-seeking inequality and conflicting individual and group interest (Terriblanche 2002). This means that a transition to democracy (especially constitutional democracy) means that the former oppressor or dispossessor will hold on to economic power. As such, the sudden interest of both the NP and the corporate sector in South Africa to a transition to democracy needs to be understood against this background. This study will argue and demonstrate how the ANC was outsmarted during the negotiations in that, at the formal negotiations, the ANC won political power whilst the NP/corporate sector in South Africa won economic power. This is mentioned to here to point out that both the elite compromise reached at the formal and informal negotiations and the influence of the Latin-American truth commissions led to the inability or unwillingness of the TRC to uncover the truth about systemic exploitation. As such, this study will argue and demonstrate that, on the one hand, reconciliation was not added to the truth commission for the purpose of confronting the country with the demands of the gospel and, on the other hand, the TRC was set up (from its inception) for failure.
Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology
D.Th. (Theological Ethics)